RAS question
According to the 2023 CGWB assessment, how should Rajasthan's overall groundwater condition be described?
Correct answer: (D) Alarming due to over-exploitation.
According to the 2023 CGWB assessment, Rajasthan's overall groundwater condition is alarming due to over-exploitation, with groundwater extraction at 148.77% and 216 of 302 assessment units classified as over-exploited.
Explanation
The 2023 CGWB assessment supports the description "alarming due to over-exploitation" because Rajasthan's stage of groundwater extraction was 148.77%, meaning extraction far exceeded the level indicated for sustainable use in the assessment framing. CGWB placed 216 of the state's 302 assessment units in the over-exploited category. That is not a marginal stress signal; it shows that over-exploitation is the dominant statewide groundwater condition. This aligns with the pattern over the last two decades, so the best description is not merely scarcity or local pressure, but an alarming overall situation driven by excessive groundwater withdrawal.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) "Sufficient" is wrong because a 148.77% extraction stage and 216 over-exploited units point to stress, not adequacy.
- (B) "Improving" is wrong because the assessment still classifies 216 of 302 units as over-exploited, so the overall condition remains severe.
- (C) "No issue" is wrong because the CGWB figures identify extensive over-exploitation across Rajasthan's assessment units.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan geography through groundwater-resource assessment, especially how CGWB extraction-stage data translates into administrative categories. It recurs in RAS because water scarcity and resource management are core Rajasthan issues.